Augmented reality, in general, involves augmenting one's view of and interaction with the real world environment with graphics, video, sound and/or other forms of computer-generated information. Augmented reality requires the use of an augmented reality device, which receives information from the physical, real world environment, processes the received information and, based on the processed information, presents the aforementioned graphics, video, sound and/or other computer-generated information in such a way that what the user experiences an integration of the physical, real world and the computer-generated information through the augmented reality device.
Often times, the physical, real world information received by the augmented reality device is only available over an active network connection, such as a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth network or tethered Ethernet connection. If a network connection is not available, or use thereof is undesirable (for example, use of a network connection would be cost prohibitive), the augmented reality device will be unable to receive the physical, real world information and, in turn, unable to provide the user with the resulting video, sound and/or other computer-generated information necessary for the augmented reality experience.
There are, of course, other ways of conveying and receiving digital information. One such way is to convey and receive digital information visually. The general concept of visually conveying digital data is known. For example, Quick Response (QR) Codes are now widely used to visually convey digital information to a receiving device. QR Codes are commonly found on advertisements in magazines, on signs, on product packaging, on posters and the like. Typically, the receiving device, such as a smart phone, captures the QR code by scanning the QR Code using a camera application. The information contained in the QR Code, that is, the content of the code itself, may be almost anything. For instance, the content may be a link to a webpage, an image, a location or a discount coupon. One benefit of using a QR Code, or other like codes, is that the information is transferred immediately to the receiving device. The most significant benefit, however, is that the digital information can be conveyed to the receiving device visually, as it does not require a network connection.
It is therefore possible to visually convey physical, real world information, in digital format, to an augmented reality device, in the manner described above, that is, without a network connection. If the quantity of data required to support a given augmented reality application is relatively small, a code, such as a QR code or other like codes, may be used as described above. However, augmented reality applications often require a significant amount of data, or a constant stream of data, where the amount of data far exceeds that which can possibly be conveyed using a single QR or other like code.
A video or video related application for use in an augmented reality device is an example of an application that might require a significant amount of data, or a constant stream of data. For instance, the video or video related application might require the digital data so that the augmented reality device can generate and/or display, sound, graphics, text or other supplemental information relating to and synchronized with the real-world video presentation (e.g., a movie or television program) being viewed by the user. If a network connection is available, conveying the quantity of data or the constant stream of data required is not a problem. What is needed is a system and method for conveying this quantity of data, or the constant stream of data, to support a video or video related augmented reality application when a network connection is not available.